Bending-machine



J. FARMER.

BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT l2. 1919.

1351472, PatentedAug.31, 192o.

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31A 36 mfr- UniTan sTATn-s PATENT orrics. *i

JAMES FARMER, or Pirrsiannen, riiNNsYLvANIA,AssIGNoR or 'ONE-miran ToJAMES E. coivwnor PITTSBURGH, riiivivsYLvANrA.

BENDINGJVIACHINE.

To all cl2/iam t may concern.' Be it known that I, JAMES FARMEn, a citi-Zen of the United States, and resident of Pittsburgh, in the county ofAllegheny,

and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new andl useful improvementin Bending- Machines; and I do hereby declare the vfollowing to be afull, clear, and eXact description thereof.

My invention relatesl to bending apparatus. i

Heretofore mac hines for bending strips Y of metal, angle, lchannel orT-irons, and pipes have 'been arranged to bend such material to axedarc, generally asjnear to a true'arc as possible, and if, for example,two pieces of material are to .be bent to arcs of respectively'differentradii, two separate` bendingmachines were necessary, j because eachmachine will impartonly a constant arc to the material.

In such former machines, the ldie usually comprises a roll or wheelstationarily journaled on a suitable support and having its peripheryshaped to conform to theinner face of the particular kind of material tobe bent. Associated with such'die is a lever pivoted on the journalabout which the die turns, andhaving a gripping faceadapted to contactthe material and press it against i the rotatable die Rocking the levercauses -it to press the material against the die and turn the latter,the material being drawn i throughV a' stationary guide so locatedas tocause it to conform to the shape of the` die.

Besides being non-adjustable, a disadvantage of the former mechanismisthatl the flanges of an angle orl T-iron are oftenV cracked due tothe'excessive speedat which the machine is operated, and to the pull eX-erted on the material by the lever;

One object of thepresent invention isi-the provision of a machineadjustable to enable metal strips, angle, lchannelfand `T ir ons,/

piping and the like, to be bentito any desired curvilinear shape, either'on a true arc or on the arc of a parabola or ellipse."

Suchadjustability permits the bending lof material on arcsrof anydesired radii within the scope of adjustmentfof the maand each block isarticulatedrelatively toV 'its adjacent block, being?` provided' with" achine. Y I

Another object is to feed the material ,i into the machine by a pushingrather than Fig. j ythrough the forming dies andV feed lever; vFig. 3 isa detail cross-sectional ',view, on

Vtending transversely of the block and ttting speeication ofiettrsPatent. f Panted A'g. 371 1920. 'Application ined september 12,1919.seriai No.1323,33s. `v

and durable Vbending machine, quickly adjustable to its variouspositions,'and readily` operated to impart the desired curvilinear formto the material passingthrough-the V machine. Y

Other objects andr advantages will be reie-d in the claims. w

ferred tohereinafter and particularly speci` j, r

In the accompanying drawings, Figure` v 1 is a top plan View of oneembodiment'of i i 70 my invention, adapted to bend angle-iron,

2 is. a horizontal sectional viewy line 3*-3 of Fig. l, throughl'a' pairofcoacting bending dies. Fig. 4 isa vdetailed vertical Vcross-sectionalview onV line f4-4, Fig. l, showing4 themeans for adjusting the formingdies tor'impart the various curvilinear shapes to the material, andforfmain- `taining the dies' where adjusted; and Fig.

5 is avertical sectional detail view on linel 5-5 of Fig. l,illustrating the 'feed lever.

' A table or bed plate (Fig. l) supports the adjustable bendingymechanism herein disclosed, and while l have shown horizontal support,itis obvious` that the: mecha' nism may be mounted in ar vertical planefReferring morevparticularly to Figs. l to 3, thebending mechanism`'selected uto illustrate onefform of my invention, includes anV sisyouterseries of forming dies Al0,- eacli of which dies comprises asubstantially rectangular die block, the inner or working face of whichvmay beprece'ssed, as atll, if necessary, to accommodate rvthecross-sectional contour ofthematerial to be bent.

-Tlie form herein Selected discloses a ma-` chine arranged tol bend aYT. iron strip -or' twov angle-iron strips, .it being understood thattheY only change necessary to enable the machine to bend channel irons,piping,

ioo

or other forms, would beto 'alter the shape i or arrangement oftherecesses in'the work-l,

Aing faces of the die blocks.

The ydie blocks 10 are arranged in tandem Y similarly articulated,

into a similarlyl shaped socket 13 formed in the adjacent block.

, Links 1d, pivotally secured by studs 15 to the respective die blocks10', connect the adjacent die blocks, on opposite sidesthereof,'toprevent separation of the blocks. Y

An inner series of forming dies 16 of similar design is arrangedsubstantially concentric with the Outer series of forming dies, theindividual die members 16 being and Aconnected by links 14;.

The working faces of the die members 16 lie opposite the Working facesof the die members 10, and in the present instance, are similarlyrecessed as at 17, to accommodate one or the other flange of theangleiron Vvvhich is to be bent.

As so far described, it is apparent that each series of vdie blocksconstitute a flexible chain adapted for arrangement in true rarcs ofvarying radii, or in other curvilinear positions. v t

Retaining links 18 connect the foremost die blocks V10 and 16 of therespective series Yof die blocks, and maintain the Working faces of theblocks in each series spaced apart to form apath traversed by thematerial to be bent, the retaining links 18 on opposite sides of theforemost die blocks being conveniently secured thereto by means of thesame studs 15 which secure the for- Ward: ends of the connecting links14 to the die blocks, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

A. retaining link 19 connects the die blocks of the inner and outerseries, at the discharge end, but because of the necessity for Ypermitting relative adjustment of the respective series of forming diesWhen assuming different curvilinear positions, l extend one endkof thisretaining link and provide it with a slot 20 through which the yappropriate stud lpasses. Itwill beiioted that theiiiner series offorming dies contains a lesser number of die blocks than does the outerseries., y dueA to the smaller `arc through which the inner seriesextends, and therefore, if the. twojseries Lare brought nearer astraight line, the outer series of forming dies will extend past theinner series, thereby necessitating an angular adjustment of theretaining link 19.

Bolts 21 passing through ears 22 formed fon the foremost die blocks 10and 16 at the inlet endof the deviceand through slots 23 formed. in thesupport or bed plate A,

anchor the die blocks fixedly in place.

By substituting retaining links 18 ofl a different length from thatshown, and sint` Vably adjusting the bolts 21 in their slots 23,

theQ pathbetween the Working faces of the respective series of dieblocks may be regu- Y .lated to conform to the thickness of the ina-Vterial 'operated upon. u j

And in order to adjust the series of form- Vseriesrof die blocksftoconform to any their adjusted positions, and yet retain them 130 A ingdies to various curvilinear paths, as Well as to maintain the formingmembers Where adjusted, l Vprovide the adjustable brace rods 24 and 25connected at their outer ends fast to the first andlast die blocks ofthe inner series, respectively.

The brace-rod 24lis slidable in an opening extending through arstep 26(see Fig. 4L) securely mounted von: the bed plate A and is held inadjusted position by means of split collars 27 (Fig. 1) encircling thebrace rod 24 on opposite sides of the step and Vbearing againstflattened faces 28 convenland the center ofthe step plate With aconsequent variation in the curvilinear path,

between the tvvo series of forming dies.

The brace rod 25 connected to the last die block of the inner formingmember, passes through av cap plate 29 (Fig. l) having a trunnion 30seated in a bearing 31 formed in the step plate 26, the tivo brace rodsintersecting the axis of the trunnion in different parallel planes.

Split collars 32 encircle the brace rod 25 and bear against flattenedyfaces 33 on oppo site sides of the cap plate to adjustably retain thebrace rod and the discharge end of the bending device in set position.

Studs 34 pass through arcuate slots 35 in the cap plate to secure it tothe step 26, and to afford a rotary adjustment'for the cap plate andbrace rod. V

By loosening the studs 34 and the split collars 82, the position of thedischarge end of the bending device may be varied by shifting the bracerod 25 relatively tothe cap plate. Obviously a gage may be provided onthe bed plate, or the brace rods may bear indications whereby to enablethe. op-

erator to'determine the proper positions.v to

which ythe ,inlet and discharge ends of the device should be adjustedfor any desiredY curvilinear form which is to be imparted to the Workpassing along the path outlined by the Working faces of the 'tWo seriesof flexibly connected Adie blocks.

And to preserve such path free from kinks and maintain the Working facesof the die blocks in alinementso'that the Walls of the .series of dieblocks 10v and 16, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the rods being slidable inthe blocks and sufficiently flexible to enable the of againstoffsetting, which would form irregularities in the path formed betweenthe two series of die blocks.

The end of the material to be operated on may be inserted between theopposed working faces of the two foremost die blocks of the inner andouter series, and advanced along the path between such working faces, inany suitable manner.

As one means, however, for effecting the feed of the material throughthe bending die blocks, I provide a pinch bar or lever, including abifurcated lower jaw 37 embracing an extension 3S of the anchoring ear22 projecting from the foremost block of the inner series of die blocks.A pin 39 fulcrums the lower jaw to the ear. The oper ating face of thislower jaw has a cam surface 40 adapted to bite against the inner surfaceof the work, and the cam face may be recessed, asshown at 4l (Fig. 5) toaccommodate itself to the cross-sectional configuration of the work.

An upper jaw 42, formed to embrace the cam face 40 of the lower jaw, ispivotally connected at 43 to the lower jaw, andthe crotch between theforked ends of the upper jaw, is provided with a recess 44 toaccommoda-te the work and atrits forward' end, with a slight clearance45 (see Fig. 2).

The material to be fed through the machine is first passed between apair of gage plates 46 adjustably secured on the table or bed plate A,and then is led between the upper and lower jaws 42, 37 of the feedlever, with the leading'end of the material inserted between the twoforemost die blocks l() and I6.

The feed lever has been rocked forwardly' to its dotted line position,Fig. l, by means of thevhandle 47 in which the upper jaw terminates, toopen the jaws for the reception of the work, after which the handle isrocked to the right (in the drawing) to f first cause the jaws to biteupon the material, and then, when lthe material is gripped, to force italong the path between the opposed working faces of the two series offorming dies, and cause it to take the IieXure or bend for whichl theforming dies have Y been adjusted. Y

By alternately swinging the lever forwardly and backwardly, the materialis fed step by step between the working faces of the dies.

Boeking the lever forwardly (to the left in the drawings) swings theupper jaw 42 in an anti-clockwise direction on its pivot 43, to releasethe upper aw from the work, the clearance 45 facilitating such release,and similarly swings the lower jaw 37.

By rocking the lever to the right, the

lower jaw swings on its fulcrum 39 until it bites on the lower surfaceof the material,

material being bent are inclosed in therecesses formed 'in the opposedworking faces of the respective series of'die blocks to pre-x 4ventcrimping.

Changes may be made in the form and arrangement Of the several elementsset forth without departing from the spiritand scope of this invention.f

What I claim is: j

l. In a bending machine, the combination with a support, 0f a pluralityof adjustably connected'sets of bending dies, the dies in -each setbeing flexibly connected one to another and means for feeding the workbetween the said sets of dies. v.

2. In a bending machine, the combination "with a support, of a pluralityof fleXible.

trains of connected bending dies spaced apart from' each other to form apath therebetween', means to variously adjust the diesv and hold themwhere adjusted,'and means to feed the work along the path between thedies.

3. In a bending machine, the combination with a suitable support, of aplurality of substantially parallel lines offorming dies spaced apartfrom each kother to leave a path to be traversed by the work, and meansto force the work endwise along such path.

4. In a bending machine,'the combina-rv tion with a suitable support, oftwo co-acting,

sets of connected forming members adjustable to impart 'variouscurvilinear shapes to the material to be bent,'and means to ladvance thematerial between the' forming l members.

5f In a bending machine, the combination withV a suitable support; of aplurality of coacting series of connected forming members,

adjustable to impart variousV curvilinear shapes to the material to bebent, and means to advance the material between therespec-k traversed bythe materialto be bent, means o to adjust the series of forming membersto vary the curvature to be imparted to the material, and means toadvance the mate"y rial along the path between the forming members.

7. In a bending machine, the combination with a suitable support, of aplurality of series of forming members, the respective series beinglarranged substantially concentrically to delineate a pathv traversed bythe material to be bent, and means to feed the material along such pathbetween the series` of for-ming Hmembers, whereby the material is causedto `assume a shape conforming to the curvature of the path.

8. In a bending machine, the combination .with a suitable support, of apluralityv of series of forming members, the respective series beingarranged substantially concen-V trically todelineate a path traversedvby the material to be bent, means to adjust'the series of formingymembers, yto vary the curvature of the path, and means to feed thematerial along suoli path between the series 0f formingmembers,wherebythe `material .is caused to assume a shape conforming tothecurvature of the path.

9. lna bending machine, the combination with a suitable support, of aplurality of series of forming dies arranged substantiallyconcentrically, and relatively spaced to leave a path to be traversed bythe material to be bent` the respective dies ineach series beingflexibly connected for adjustmodate the cross-sectional shape of thematerialmeans to-adljust the series of forming dies to vary thecurvilinear path, and vmeans toadvance the materialalong. such path.

l1. In a bending machine, the combination with a suitable support, ofaplurality of series of forming dies, the individual die membersconstituting` each series, being flexibly connected andrelatively,articulated to enable the series to assume a variety ofcurvi-linear positions, the .working faces of the respective series ofyforming dies being opposed to constitute walls outlining a pathtraversed by the material to be bent, means vto adjust the seriesofforming dies to conform to one or another curvilinear position,

and means to'cause the material to traverse the VpathA between theopposed working faces of the forming dies.

12..,ln afbendin'g machine, the combinationwith a plurality of series offorming dies, the die members of each series ar- `ranged in tandem,means to Hexibly connect the die members of each series, the workingVfaces ef the die members of each series Vbeing opposed to form a pathtraversed by the material to be bent, means to adjust the respectiveseries offerining dies to a variety ofcurvilinear positions, fieXiblemeans to hold the die members of each series in properrelation tomaintain their working faces in an even line, and, cause them topresenta smooth wall to the material and means :to force the materialalongv suchY Vpath.u

13.' ln a bendingmachine, the combination with a suitable support, of aplurality of series of forming dies, the individual die Y members ofeach series being` flexiblyV con-` neoted,the working vfaces of thediesin one series being opposed to the working vfaces of the dies in anotherseries, to form a path traversed by the material to be bent, retainingkmeans to connect the feo-acting series of forming dies againstseparation, adjustable ineansto maintain the respective series offorming dies in any curvilinear position within the scope of adjustment,and means toiforce the material along the path between the working faces`of the dies ofthe 1respective series.

14C. In aA bending machine, the combinationv with a suitable support,ofa plurality of series of forming dies, the dies of each seriesconsisting of individual articulated members, flexible rods passingthrough said individual members, and a member adapted to feed the workbetween the said series vof l5. ln a bending machine, the combina tionof a suitable support, of a plurality of series of forming dies, thedies of each series consisting` vof individual articulated members,{iexible rods connected to the innermost of said members, and passingthrough openings in the other members, and a member adapted to feedthework between the said series of dies.

n testimony whereof I, the saidY JAMES FARMER, have hereunto set myhand.

yJANIES FARMER.

Witnesses y i Y Roirr. D. TOTTEN, JorIN F. WILL.

